Confucius Quotes
Confucius was born in 551 BC. He was a Chinese philosopher, whose teachings and explanations of philosophy have deeply influenced Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese and Vietnamese thoughts on life.
His way of wording his sentences, with a lot of meaning in a few words, makes his work spiritual wisdom. His quotes inspire more thought on any given subject.
Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes.
Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.
Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it.
It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.
Men's natures are alike, it is their habits that carry them far apart.
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do.
Respect yourself and others will respect you.
To be able under all circumstances to practice five things constitutes perfect virtue;
these five things are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness and kindness.
Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.
By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart.
The people may be made to follow a path of action,
but they may not be made to understand it.
The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.
There are three things which the superior man guards against. In youth...lust.
When he is strong...quarrelsomeness. When he is old...covetousness.
Things that are done, it is needless to speak about,
things that are past, it is needless to blame.
To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.
When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them.
[The superior man] acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his actions.
While you are not able to serve men, how can you serve spirits [of the dead]?
While you do not know life, how can you know about death?
Ability will never catch up with the demand for it.
No matter where you go, there you are.
Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.
By three methods we may learn wisdom:
First, by reflection, which is noblest;
Second, by imitation, which is easiest;
and third by experience, which is the bitterest.
Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.
I want you to be everything that's you, deep at the center of your being.
If I am walking with two other men, each of them will serve as my teacher.
I will pick out the good points of the one and imitate them,
and the bad points of the other and correct them in myself.
If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees;
if in terms of 100 years, teach the people.
It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works.
All good things are difficult to achieve; and bad things are very easy to get.
No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading,
or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.
The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large.
The superior man thinks always of virtue; the common man thinks of comfort.
To know what is right and not to do it is the worst cowardice.
To see and listen to the wicked is already the beginning of wickedness.
You cannot open a book without learning something.
Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without moon and star.
If a man takes no thought about what is distant, he will find sorrow near at hand.
Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.
The superior man cannot be known in little matters,
but he may be entrusted with great concerns.
The small man may not be entrusted with great concerns,
but he may be known in little matters.
Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors.
If you make a mistake and do not correct it, this is called a mistake.
He who knows all the answers has not been asked all the questions.
Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.
Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.
Silence is a true friend who never betrays.
It is not the failure of others to appreciate your abilities that should trouble you,
but rather your failure to appreciate theirs.
The man of wisdom is never of two minds;
the man of benevolence never worries;
the man of courage is never afraid.
To be wronged is nothing, unless you continue to remember it.
The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.
I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.
What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others.
Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change.
The funniest people are the saddest once.
The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.
The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute,
the man who does not ask is a fool for life.